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Ashley Massaro
Ashley Marie Massaro was an American professional wrestler and model. She was best known for her time with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and for her appearance on Survivor: China. Biography Growing up in Babylon, N.Y., with a father, brother and uncle who competed in amateur wrestling, Ashley already had the background and competitive edge needed to make it in World Wrestling Entertainment. As a former gymnast, she certainly had the physicality. And her model looks … well, need we say more? (We will, anyway.) In April 2007, she raised the bar for Playboy when she graced the magazine's cover. Just one month earlier, she appeared as Athena on the hit TV series Smallville. Also in that short period of time, Ashley brought her love for music to Fuse TV when she took part in a special edition of The Sauce. Millions of viewers around the world tuned in when Ashley added Survivor castaway to her resume, joining the hit CBS show's 15th season in China. After being voted off, the Diva proudly walked away from Survivor: China with not just the memories of a life-altering experience, but also invaluable knowledge of survival. And, after competing in wet, dirty and exhaustive conditions on the show, she anxiously awaited her return to a more familiar battle ground: WWE. Ashley made her triumphant return to Raw on Jan. 7, where she she was a surprise entrant and winner of the Raw Roulette Lingerie Pillow Fight. In the years leading to Diva Search, she was crowned Miss Hawaiian Tropic USA in 2002, then Miss Hawaiian Tropic Canada in 2005. Her multiple swimsuit calendar appearances have made men forget about the 11 other months of the year. And if you’ve seen any newsstands on fire, don’t be surprised if they were caused by her smokin’-hot layouts in the pages of Stuff, FHM and Maxim, not to mention the covers of FLEX and Femme Fatale. Brawn and beauty – is it any wonder she won the 2005 Raw Diva Search? To be fair, there is more to this WWE Diva than meets the wandering eye. A State University of New York graduate with a degree in Communications, Ashley’s greatest asset is that she knows how to keep in touch with her fans, whether she’s blogging about music on WWE.com’s “Bangin’ with Ashley” or talking in front of television cameras. (She had even given fans her phone number while she competed in the Raw Diva Search, though she had to stop for “obvious reasons.”) Many TV execs have also noticed this, judging from the fact she has hosted a special for Entertainment Tonight, the 2006 Raw Diva Search Finale for USA Network and numerous Wild On shows that air constantly on the E! Channel. Her animated personality even made her a big winner with viewers watching her perform feats of clay on MTV’s Celebrity Death Match. Ashley makes sure that the United States Armed Forces don’t forget about her, either, and she has spoken proudly about being a WWE representative visiting the troops overseas on CNBC’s The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch and MSNBC’s Rita Cosby: Live and Direct. “You’ve got to feel for them,” she says. “They’re putting their lives on the line for us, and if any of us can do anything to pay them back, I think we should.” - WWE.com Other media Survivor Massaro was a contestant on CBS's Survivor: China, which was the fifteenth season of the show, in 2007. Massaro approached the WWE with the idea of doing the show, and after going through the casting process, she found out she made the show ten days before she had to leave for China to film. Prior to the experience, Massaro had never been camping before, so to train for the show she had to get used to being outside. She was assigned to the Zhan Hu tribe in the first episode and quickly began quarreling with fellow contestant Dave Cruser. In the second episode, Massaro was voted off after six days with a 6–1 vote. Modeling and acting She competed in Miss Hawaiian Tropic pageants and was crowned Miss Hawaiian Tropic USA in 2002 and Miss Hawaiian Tropic Canada in August 2004. She appeared in FHM, Stuff, Maxim, and on the cover of Playboy after joining WWE, though she had previously posed for Playboy in 2003 and 2004. Massaro tried out for Playboy scouts when they were searching for models for the 50th Anniversary Playmate Hunt. She appeared in the accompanying pictorial in the December 2003. In addition, she appeared in both Femme Fatales and Flex magazines. Massaro also hosted several E! channel Wild On! episodes and appeared on Breaking Bonaduce as Danny Bonaduce's personal trainer. Massaro guest starred on an episode of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition alongside WWE wrestlers John Cena and Batista. In addition, she appeared in campaign ads for both Hawaiian Tropic and Yamaha. In February 2007, Massaro and Glenn "Kane" Jacobs filmed an episode of the CW's Smallville that aired on March 22, 2007. In April 2007, Massaro also appeared as a guest on Fuse TV's show The Sauce. On April 20, 2007, Massaro and several other wrestlers filmed Timbaland's video, "Throw It on Me" featuring the Hives. In 2008, she appeared in Rev Theory's video for "Hell Yeah.". Video games Massaro appeared in two WWE video games. She made her in-game debut in WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2008 and in WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2009. Personal life Massaro grew up in Babylon, New York, where her brother and father competed in amateur wrestling. She received her Bachelor of Sciencedegree in Communication with a minor in Business from the State University of New York at Albany. Massaro had one daughter, Alexa, who was born on July 23, 2000. When her daughter became sick in mid-2008, Massaro asked for an early release from WWE to care for her. On May 22, 2019, after Massaro's death, several former WWE female wrestlers who were Massaro's coworkers, grouped as "The Squared Circle Sisters", opened a crowfunding campaign in GoFundMe in order to create a college fund for Massaro's daughter, setting a goal of $100,000. She had several tattoos, including a black and pink nautical star on the back of both of her elbows; a pink and red dragon surrounding kanjilettering that translates to 'Trust No One' going down the right side of her torso; symbols on the small of her lower back; and a butterfly on her right hip. She also had several piercings, including a Monroe (a piercing near the upper lip that resembles a beauty mark) and Snakebites (a piercing on each side of the lower lip). In November 2016, Massaro joined a class action lawsuit against WWE, litigated by Konstantine Kyros, who has been involved in a number of other lawsuits against them, alleging that the company concealed risks of injury which caused them neurological damage. Massaro also alleged that she was sexually assaulted at a US military base during a WWE tour of Kuwait and that WWE apologized but persuaded her to not report it to the appropriate authorities. The lawsuit was dismissed in late 2018. After her death, WWE said they received an email from Massaro in October 2018 in which she expressed regret for having taken part in the lawsuit. An affidavit by Massaro detailing the abuse allegations was released by the law firm that represented her after her death. Death On May 16, 2019, ten days before her 40th birthday, Massaro died in Long Island, after being transported from her home to a hospital. On May 19 at Money in the Bank, WWE paid tribute to Massaro's life and career by projecting a graphic of her and dedicating the show to her memory. Visitation for Massaro was held on May 19, and her funeral took place the following day on May 20 at the Branch Funeral Home in Smithtown, New York. On May 21, she was buried at the Saint James Episcopal Church Cemetery in St. James, New York. Also, on May 21, TMZ reported that Massaro's cause of death was due to an apparent suicide by hanging. Championships and accomplishments * World Wrestling Entertainment ** WWE Diva Search (2005) Category:WWE Alumni Category:2005 Debuts Category:2008 Departures Category:Wrestlers Category:American Divas Category:RAW Divas Category:SmackDown Divas Category:Ruthless Aggression Era Category:Universe Era Category:Diva Search Contestants Category:Managers/Valets Category:Deceased